Claire’s, the accessories chain where many a 16-year-old has got their ear pierced, has collapsed into administration for a second time.
Around 150 stores that employ 1,000 people are now at risk, only four months after the struggling company was rescued.
Administrators Kroll confirmed this evening that the firm has been appointed to handle the insolvency of the brand’s UK and Irish operations.
It added that Claire’s ‘is continuing to trade during this period’.
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Owner Modella, which is also in charge of The Original Factory Shop, said Claire’s was at risk of administration earlier this month.
Modella added today: ‘This has been a very tough decision. We have worked intensively in an effort to save both businesses, having made last-ditch attempts to rescue them, but neither has a realistic possibility of trading profitably again.’
The company bought 156 Claire’s stores last year, with the remaining 145 closing.
Money from a rescue deal quickly ran dry, between government tax policy and demands from landlords, sources told Sky News.
Claire’s once had hundreds of stores in the UK selling glittery necklaces and bracelets before suffering losses of around £25 million over the last few years.
Shopping experts say Claire’s simply could not keep up with cheap online platforms like Temu and teens who look to TikTok for their next purchase.
Modella also owns WH Smith, which rebranded its high street stores to TG Jones amid losses, and the ailing arts and craft chain Hobbycraft.
Nearly 40 shops closed every day in 2024, the majority being banks, pharmacies and pubs, according to the retail consortium PWC.
Last year was no different, with the Centre for Retail Research estimating that 17,000 would shutter.
This has included other big-budget brands like Poundland as well as clothing store River Island.
Professor Adrian Palmer, of the Henley Business School, told Metro that the high street is trapped in a ‘vicious’ cycle.
A high street with shuttered stores and boarded-up windows isn’t exactly attractive to shoppers, leading to more closures.
‘There is hope for larger High Streets in better off areas which are destinations in themselves,’ he said.
‘But the winning High Streets tend to rely on more high-end, high-margin businesses rather than budget retailers.
‘Local and regional High Streets in areas with poorer demographics will continue to struggle as they reinvent themselves for other purposes.’
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